How I Found Kosher Food, A Husband, and Had Children After 35

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Who Put The Oy In Toy? Birthday Parties!

Once again, we celebrated a birthday party in our home. We had 16 five year old children, one three year old and one almost two year old all in one room. The theme was a birthday breakfast bash in pajamas. This actually got the children excited and they picked out their pajamas a week in advance. My husband and I decided that we would skip the baloon blower and magician and be completely original. The plan was simple and clear, and clear out is what we did – with all visible toys – strategic move. There is a time and a place for our toy collection to be shared, but a birthday party with this amount of children with three adults, not happening.

In prepation for the party,we had a family outing to the newest kosher supermarket in our neighborhood, Aron’s Kissena Farms. We found some fantastic prices on the items necessary to make Pas Yisroel pancakes with Cholov Yisroel milk, apple and banana pies, and chocolate cake, and frosting. Yes, my dear husband made all of these yummy items from scratch. We also purchased Klein’s Ice Cream, which was a terrific price, just 4.99 for 56 oz. What’s a big cup of ice cream or a large, plain pancake without whipped cream, chocolate sprinkles, chocolate syrup, and maple syrup on top? Exactly. We made our birthday breakfast bash into a “breakfeast”.

In between the pancakes and before the chocolate birthday cake was served, I organized a few games of freeze dance using our own instruments. These weren’t just regular instruments, but kid friendly musical toys that made a lot of noise. This was really fun because we only had three instruments and all of the children wanted a chance to be in the “band”. This activity went much better than I had anticipated. In fact, my husband had to give me the “let’s rap it up” sign because we were all having so much fun, I didn’t realize that we only had 40 minutes left to serve the birthday bcake and open presents.

Speaking of presents, a birthday party like this definitely puts the “oy” in “toy”, but once the spills have been cleaned up and the water that ran over from the sink in the bathroom soaked up-this really happened- we’ll always remember how much fun we had. Now, my daughter is having a blast with all of the puzzles, games, and arts and crafts that she received this year. I must say that Disney was the most popular item, with melissa & doug coming in second. Everything else was either a puzzle or picture and drawing set, including some really cool twist and turn crayola markers. This is something I’ve been looking for that should be required of all markers. I seriously feel that those caps are a waste of time, not too mention a serious choking hazard! The writing is on the package loud and clear, but that doesn’t help when my daughter leaves the art box open. The shelf life of these markers without a cap is very brief. I love when my older kids draw, but my two year old just waits for those caps to drop on the floor, and they always do. He puts them right in his mouth and runs over to me with a smile. Oy!

With all of this toy business fresh on my mind, I am really looking forward to meeting up with some other mom bloggers tomorrow morning at The Goldberger Company for breakfast. Super mom blogger and connector ComplicatedMama has helped arrange this event which will give mom bloggers the opportunity to learn about The Goldberger Company. I’m already impressed by this company. The Goldberger Company is a 94-year-old family owned and operated toy company that specializes in dolls and playthings for children ages 0-3 years. I love family owned businesses, there is just something so special about a family biz that can last so many years. I look forward to shmoozing over breakfast -the bagels are kosher, I already checked – with Goldberger President and CEO Jeff Holtzman and VP of Consumer and Family Advocacy Bette Holtzman. We will also get an exclusive sneak peek at their 2010 baby dolls.

Following the breakfast, I will be attending my very first Toy Fair at the Javitz Center in Manhattan. I figured, as long as I have already arranged for a babysitter complete with both pick-ups and playdates, why not see what’s going on over at The Toy Fair. I am also excited to see what all the buzz is about furry toys that move, Zhu Zhu Pets and the newest toys from Hasbro.

Talk about new meets old, some of my favorite toy memories from childhood are from Hasbro, like Baby Alive, and Playdough. My kids love the “old school” toys as well. Sometimes it is fun to just play with items that don’t light up or make a lot of noise. Simply the best, and they can always play with them on Shabbos.